There is a universal psychological journey at the heart of Victoria Warmerdam’s I’m Not a Robot, despite its Sci-Fi inflections.
It all begins when Lara (Ellen Parren) needs to download an update for the software she’s using at work and is, frustratingly, unable to pass the test to prove she’s not a robot. Trying to get the issue resolved, she finds herself beginning to question whether the unthinkable might actually be true. While the particulars of Lara’s dilemma may be outlandish, the fundamental crisis of identity that she goes through – including the sense of questioning relationships that transpire to be on different terms than we previously understood – is relatable and human. Warmerdam’s short, which has recently been shortlisted for the live-action short Oscar, utilises this empathy to make Lara’s journey hugely compelling.
Lara is, to all appearances, a woman just like all the others in her office. She has job as a music producer, she has friends, and a personal history. However, when he inability to pass a Captcha test seems to imply that she is not actually human, it begins a spiral in which she is forced to confront her own memories and, more pointedly, the agency she has always believed she has had in her professional and personal lives. What begins as a ridiculous suggestion by an intransigent customer service telephone operator upends Lara’s understanding of everything she knows about herself.
Warmerdam’s film exists in a world of near-future sci-fi that feels of a piece with something like Spike Jonze’s Her aesthetically, or an episode of Charlie Brooker’s much-lauded Black Mirror, philosophically. It is interested less in the technological implications of the situation than interpersonal and introspective drama. Parren is excellent in the lead role, allowing Lara to rattle through a variety of stages of emotional reaction to what she is confronted with and never feeling like it lurches, even when the narrative turns on a dime. I’m Not a Robot is a disquieting and thought-provoking piece of low-key sci-fi.
Director, screenplay: Victoria Warmerdam Cast: Ellen Parren, Henry Van Loon, Thekla Reuten, Juliette Van Ardenne, Asma El Mouden Producer: Trent Cinematography: Martijn Van Broekhuizen Editing: Michiel Boesveldt Music: Merlijn Snitker Sound: Evelien Van Der Molen Production companies: Oak Motion Pictures (Netherlands), The Y-house Films (Belgium) In Dutch 22 minutes
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